To Snag a Potter
by Rustic Zebra
Summary: A one shot written in Lilys perspective. Telling of how things changed and how she 'snaged' her Potter. =revised version=


**To Snag A Potter**   
  
  
  
Hogwarts was like a home away from home for me. A place where I felt free to be more like the me I wanted to be. Magic had always taken my interest, even at a young age when it was no more than a fantasy in a far away land. Although I had come to accept it was definitely no fairy tale. It didn't just come at the snap of you're fingers, it took a lot of had work to become a successful witch or wizard, that could be why I am so devoted to getting all the marks that I can - to succeed.  
  
Sure, I got hassled by Slythrins about my 'goody goody' ways - hell! Even my best friends hassled me, making a point to call me a 'study freak' as often as they could. I guess that's just who I am.  
  
James told me that once in the first year when Lucius Malfoy had been pestering me. Sure, I thanked him for 'defending' me, but I was ticked off that he thought I couldn't manage things on my own.   
  
It wasn't that I hated him, or even that I disliked him. True, he did use to irritate me, bug me even, but that was a long time ago, and I guess things just…change.   
  
We had always been friends, not the kind that you owl all the time on summer break, or the type that you joked around with in class. We were the kind that just said 'hello,' as we past each other in the hallways. Maybe that's more of an acquaintance, not so much a friend, I don't know, but that's what we were.   
  
So when did things change?   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
I looked through the glass on the door and scanned my eyes over the room, looking for Mrs. Finders, the Charms Professor. I saw her at the front of the class already giving instructions for the up and coming lesson. It wasn't my fault that I was late and that charms had started over ten minutes ago. But I had been held up and dragged to Finch's office after accidentally spilling my inkbottle all over his freshly waxed floor when my bag had torn.   
  
I sunk down a bit so I was hidden from her view. I panicked. How on earth was I suppose to get into the room with out her noticing? Impossible! Mrs. Finders had eyes like a hawk (Maybe it came from the fact that her animagus form was a hawk). I cringed and ran the possibly of heading over to the hospital ward and faking a sickness over in my mind. Too bad I knew it wouldn't work.   
  
Timidly, I inched my way back up to look again through the glass. Her back was to the board. Good, at least she hadn't seen me. But someone else's eyes caught my own. James Potter's.   
  
'Lily?' he mouthed in my direction questionably when he noticed I was on the other side of the door than I should have been on.   
  
I sent a 'Help' back but he wasn't as good at lip reading as I was.   
  
He looked confused. 'What?'   
  
Aggravated, I squatted down and took out a spare piece of parchment out of my bag. On it I wrote in big bold black letters 'HELP!'   
  
This time he understood. He gave me a 'a-okay' sign and a wink before I ducked back out of sight as Mrs. Findings turned back to face the class.   
  
I waited desperately for something to happen. Anything! Keeping check on the room every few seconds, I grew more and more anxious. What was James going to do anyhow? No doubt something completely stupid.   
  
It was then that I heard it. It was faint at first, but got loud enough that soon I was surprised that I hadn't heard it before.   
  
Urg! James?!   
  
I couldn't help but look at just what was happening. I had to hide a laugh when I did. It seemed Mrs. Findings' lesson had been disturbed. James appeared to have taken over, and was chatting away to Mrs. Findings in what I could only assume was useless information. She looked horror stricken that her classes attention had left her and was now directed at one of her students.   
  
It made me wonder just what James was saying; all I could here was a loud drone. But right then, it was the least of my worries. Making sure she wouldn't see me, I cracked the door open and slid inside, silently closing the door behind me. As I sat down, James stopped his sentence and sat back in his seat looking as through nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.   
  
Regaining her stiff, straight back posture, Mrs. Findings recaptured the classes attention and continued the lesson, not noticing my little entrance. I caught James' eye again and grinned thankfully at him, getting a goofy smile back. It was good to know you had a friend that would go out on a limb for you.   
  
  
  
Maybe that's when it started?   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
That was in our second year. Even through he did that favor for me, we didn't exactly become 'best of buds' of any thing. But that was when it started, that was when we became 'acquaintances' so to speak.   
  
The day wasn't life changing or anything, at least back then it wasn't. But now when I think back, perhaps it was. I mean, it all has to start somewhere, right?   
  
  
  
I always stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays and only went home, back to my parent's house, for the summer. I didn't absolutely love Hogwarts so much that I wanted to spend all my time there or anything ridicules like that. No, far from it! The girls in my dorm were the worst at cleaning up after themselves and the room had this horrible odor that we couldn't get rid of no matter how many spells we put on it. My friends always went back to their homes except maybe one or two times when one of them stayed, so it wasn't as if I had any major reasons for wanting to stay in my smelly little room, there was only one.   
  
My sister lived at home.   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
I shivered as I breathed in the icy air. It was about four o'clock and the boredom of the Gryffondor common room had chased me outside. It was coming up to Christmas and the tower was deserted apart from a few others who had decided to stay.   
  
When our head of house, Professor McGonagall, had come around asking who was to be staying I had signed up and then gone to the owlery to owl my parents telling them that I wouldn't be home these holidays. Sure, they had been disappointed in me but I wanted to stay out of Petunia's way as much as possible. She was my sister, and even through she acted younger than me, she was five years older.   
  
We had never had the sister - sister relationship that was portrayed on all the television shows, but rather one of dislike for each other. We just didn't get along, and what little conversations we had resulted in an argument.   
  
  
  
It was as I was when I was back indoors and beside the fireplace, wrapped up in a wooly blanket, reading a magazine one of my 'dorm-mates' had left behind that James approached me.   
  
'Hey,' James said sitting down on the armchair across from me.   
  
'Hey yourself.'   
  
He cracked a smile. 'Well, you look, uh, warm?' he joked referring to my thick blanket.   
  
'Trust me when I say don't go for a walk outside,' I laughed.   
  
'Hrm,' he paused. 'Well if not outside, then how about down to the kitchens for a hot chocolate?' He tempted. 'I mean, it is cold, and those drinks sure are hot!'   
  
I put my magazine down on my lap. 'Well, given the options I think I'll go with you.'   
  
He laughed and started towards the door. I folded the blanket then ran to catch up. 'So, where are your other halfs?'   
  
'Who? Remus and Sirius? Ah, I don't know. Properly somewhere warm anyhow. Sirius is a big baby when it comes to winter and being cold.'   
  
'Oh.'   
  
'What about you? Why aren't you at home?' James inquired.   
  
I made a face. 'Ugh! My sister, that's why.'   
  
He looked shocked. 'Really? You don't get along or something?'   
  
'To put it in a mild way.' I said nodding. 'I've tried to be nice to her in the past and all, but it doesn't work.'   
  
'Oh,' the stunned expression was still evident on his face. 'I though you were the kind of person who got along with everybody. Was it always that way? With your sister I mean?'   
  
I shrugged. 'Yeah, pretty much. I guess it wasn't that bad when we were younger, but I think when Petunia, that's my sister, found out I was a witch it kinda went down hill from there.'   
  
'That's to bad.'   
  
'Maybe,' I said softly. 'Do you have any siblings, James?'   
  
He hesitated. 'No. Well, not anymore anyway.'   
  
My eyes widened. 'I'm sorry! I didn't know!' I explained feeling like a fool.   
  
'Hey, that's okay. You didn't know. Anyway, it happened a while ago.'   
  
'What happened?'   
  
He sighed solemnly. 'Jessica was very keen on anything and everything to do with dragons. A bit like Hagrid really.' He paused. 'She was a lot older than me and had a career researching them in some other county. Anyway, one day she just got to close.'   
  
'I'm sorry.' I whispered, putting an arm around him.   
  
'Its all right. Really," James told me when he saw my skeptic look. 'In any case, that's why I was a little shocked that you felt that way about your sister. I had always admired and loved Jess, I just figured everybody else felt that way about their siblings. Now,' he said changing the subject and grinning a little. 'How about the hot chocolate?'   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
After that, I did start going home for the holidays. I even started being nicer to Petunia, but as James told me later, 'Some people never change.'   
  
My time at Hogwarts did seem to pass me by quickly so that could be why I don't recall everything. But I have tried to keep all the memories I could. I even brought a magical camera to help me. Memories were always important to me. My mother told me when I was little that one thing we take with us during our lives are our memories, and that nothing can take them away. I didn't believe in that either. I think it might have been the fact that I seemed to hold on to bad memories and let the good ones slip away.   
  
But I do remember my seventh year, I don't think I could ever not remember it. Some things are far too special and important for me to let slither away.   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
After being loaded down with homework earlier in the day by Mrs. Findings, I had staked a claim to one of the tables in the common room and being the study worm that I am felt obliged to complete it all before I did anything relaxing - such as sleeping.   
  
People had filtered out earlier on and had headed up to their dorms. Only a handful of students remained. I jolted out of my study state when I head someone pull out the chair across from me.   
  
'James?' I said looking up. 'What brings you here?'   
  
He sighed heavily and sat down. 'Lily, I need some help.'   
  
'No problem, what kind of help?'   
  
'Girl help.'   
  
He had slumped down in the chair and looked horribly down on himself. I couldn't help but oblige.   
  
Taking a deep breath, he told me all about how the girl he had liked, Madison, had decided to go out with another guy, Jesse Finchman.   
  
I tenderly patted his hand from across the table trying to comfort him. 'Well, did she know you liked her?' I asked trying to get the story straight and sort out why he seemed to think it was all Madison's fault.   
  
"Er…well… no.'   
  
'Well then James, you can't blame her, can you? How was she to know?'   
  
'Yeah I know, but still. It doesn't make me feel any better.' He sulked.   
  
'Don't worry, James,' I reassured. 'It just means she wasn't the one for you. You're still young; there'll be more. I promise.'   
  
James smiled the gleam in his eyes returning. 'Maybe. So…what do you think she'll look like? Think she'll be hot?'   
  
I laughed a little. 'Wow, you got over that pretty fast.'   
  
He brushed the comment aside smiling and stood up. 'Hrm. Sirius is who should be getting counseling from you. He was sure he was in love with the poor girl. I'm going up to bed now…and up to inform Sirius. Thanks Lily.'   
  
'No problem.' I said just above a whisper.   
  
  
  
A couple of months passed, and I was asked again for my advice.   
  
'So,' James started as we sat in the kitchen at one of the long tables, a hot chocolate in hand.   
  
'So, I replied. 'How can I help you this time James?'   
  
'Tell me, what you would do if you really liked someone…and say you knew them well - but not that well, how would you go about…say - asking them out?' He said it with a confident smile. But his cinnamon eyes betrayed him. They were boring deep into my own and I swear for a moment time was frozen still.   
  
It made me wonder, if he felt the same way about me as I do for him. I think he must have found what he was looking for because soon a soft smile was playing on his lips.   
  
'Do you want to know what I think, Lily?'   
  
I nodded gripping my cup tightly in my hands awaiting his words.   
  
  
  
_ Love is photogenic It needs darkness to develop _   
  
  
  
'I think,' he said slowly. 'That love can hide itself very carefully in those you least expect.'   
  
  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
  
  
  
James and I started going out after that. We dated right through to the end of our seventh year, and not long after our adventures at Hogwarts were over, he proposed and we were to be married.   
  
The wedding beautiful, like a fairy tale even. James wanted to invite everyone he had every met, hell, I bet if he could have he would have invited the whole world. James was done up in a formal suit and I was the bride, decked out in white. I had asked James to have a 'Muggle' wedding, but his family was of wizarding blood and wanted a 'magical' wedding, so we met half way with a bit of both.   
  
And so now I have my James, he's all mine! Others can stare all they want but in the end is he's my catch, they can go drool over someone else. After all, Sirius is still available.   
  
  
  
I have my Potter. Do you have yours?   
  
  
  



End file.
